


Only the Ocean

by Yuna_Starlines



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Blood, F/M, How Do I Tag, M/M, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Minor Original Character(s), Period Typical Violence, Sea Monsters, Slow Burn, idk - Freeform, minor death threats, minor original character death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:14:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23258245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yuna_Starlines/pseuds/Yuna_Starlines
Summary: "It was almost as if the ocean would talked to me, you know" Remus did know, of course he did."Yes, I understand."Logan have always feel a deep connection with the sea, for some reason.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit Sanders
Comments: 24
Kudos: 36





	1. Prelude: Hey there, lonely girl.

**Author's Note:**

> In my Tumblr an Anon asked for a Pirate AU, and my mind went wild. The story is already planned, so don't worry about this going on Hiatus. 
> 
> Since this is the prelude, the main characters won't appear right now, but hopefully it's worth the wait? I really hope y'all like it. I have a blast planning this.
> 
> Oh, also, this AU is slightly modern? Like they don't have phone for example but the English isn't so pompous, mainly because I can barely keep up with modern English.

Romulus didn’t understand why he never _fit it._ It wasn’t as if he was a bad king, he was an excellent king, mind you. He ruled merpeople and sea creatures with kindness, and the Kingdom was flourishing, so it wasn’t that he was scared of something.

He was, lonely. He hated feeling like that.

One day, he was mopping on his loneliness near the shore when he saw her. The most beautiful human he had ever laid eyes on. He couldn’t help but followed her, and to his surprise, she lived near the shore, one small hole allowed him to peek into her house.

She also seemed lonely.

Being king, had its perks, one being that he could leave the throne room and the kingdom whenever he wanted. From that day on he decided to use that perk, and every morning he would sing to his lady.

* * *

Rachel was a lonely woman. It didn’t exactly bother her, except it completely bothered her. When she left his ex-husband, it was for the best, she still has to cover some bruises he left.

She sighed, and only then she started to hear the same melody from every day. It almost seemed as if the melody came from the sea.

She has always loved the sea, that’s why when she left him, she decided to find a house near the ocean.

She opened the window and smiled when the melody became stronger. She leaned into the balcony and stared into the small waves that hit her house, and only then she saw a red tail shining into the water.

She smiled.

* * *

Romulus visited her every day, until one day a small thing got into the water and he stopped singing. He looked up and saw her throwing things into the water. Some fishes decided to start eating it.

“Is it good?” He asked a clownfish, who nodded. He tried it.

It was good.

* * *

Rachel saw her red fish eating the cookie she was breaking and throwing from the balcony and she smiled.

It was dumb, she knew, but whenever the red fish visited her, the melody also came, and she felt less lonely.

* * *

It was in the middle of the night when Rachel noticed that the fish, it wasn’t really a fish but a freaking merman.

“Please don’t scream.” He said, showing his hands that had some thin skin in between his fingers.

“You sing to me…” It was all she could say.

“Yes.”

They smiled, and suddenly they weren’t lonely anymore.

* * *

The first time Romulus shape to his human form in front of her, it was also their first kiss, and their first time together.

Romulus continue to be an amazing king, so no one had any complaint that he would disappear some days.

Rachel was like a ghost in the town she lived, but when Romulus was around, she couldn’t care less.

* * *

Romulus stared at her as if she was speaking another language, “What do you mean pregnant?” He finally asked, “Are you going to lay eggs?”

Rachel laughed gently, and took his hand, putting it on her belly “Something like that. You are going to be a father, Rom.” She smiled.

* * *

The first time Rachel went into the ocean, she was holding into Romulus’ arm for her life and yet admiring everything, the rest of merpeople were whispering into a language she didn’t understand.

“Why can’t I understand them?” Romulus smiled at her.

“I didn’t know you could speak Atlantean, sweetheart.” She pouted.

“I understand you.”

“Yes, but I learn English, remember the first times?” She laughed, and it was true, Romulus stuttering was such a funny thing.

Romulus introduced Rachel to the kingdom counselors, who were shocked at the beginning, but smiled. _~~Rachel was so creeped out she didn’t know dolphins could smiled, what the actual fuck~~_ ~~.~~

“I supposed this is your goodbye, your majesty.” Said an older merman, swimming closer to them.

Romulus first translated to Rachel, “It is, sir. My wife is expecting babies, and soon I will be a father.”

“Very well, my king.” The merman, said in that language Rachel didn’t understand, “Just remember that us merpeople can’t be to apart from the sea for a long period of time.”

“I know, sir.”

They threw a small goodbye party to King Romulus, the best King they could’ve ever asked for.

* * *

Rachel kissed her husband as they stared the small crib were two babies fall asleep, “Roman is a merman,” Romulus said, chuckling when the small golden and red tail tapped (golpeteaba) the bed. “The sages say he can spend all the time he wanted outside the Ocean since he is half human.” He kissed the forehead of his son, who giggled and suddenly his tail shift into two small, chubby legs.

Rachel would probably never get used to that, “Remus is human,” He continued, petting the small tentacle his son created, “Apparently he can shift whenever he can into whatever sea creature and can breathe under water even in his human form.”

“This is so surreal.” She said, finally. “I ended up marrying the king of seas,”

“… ex-king, actually.”

“And having two beautiful babies.” She shushed him with a small kiss, “If they get sick, do I take them to the doctor or to the vet?”

* * *

Romulus knew he should’ve spent more time in the water, so when he noticed that death was close, it was too late.

The kids were merely five years old.

* * *

Rachel died when the twins were sixteen years old.

* * *

Rumor has it, that only one twin went back into the water. There’s no evidence of what happened to the other one.

Time passed by, and the story of Rachel and Romulus was forgotten by everyone.

* * *

Sometimes, when King Roman was feeling lonely, he would sing to the moon.

Sometimes, when Captain Remus was feeling lonely, he would sing to the moon

At least, they still have each other.


	2. Chapter one: La Canción del Pirata

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's done. I wanna thank my beautiful best friend and my beta for this chapter. Personally I loved writing this one.

Logan didn’t remember a lot of his childhood. There wasn’t a lot to remember really, growing up in a foster house wasn’t exactly a great experience.

Logan’s favorite memories were of the times in which the nannies would take all the kids to the beach, and he would spend all day just sitting on the shore listening to breeze of the ocean.

The physician said that since he was abandoned near the sea, he associated the idea of family to the sea. Logan didn’t think it was true. The ocean did provide him with certain calm, but he believed it was because of the sounds it produced. He didn’t think it was something deep, he just liked the sea, big deal. If a bourgeois kid says that they like the sea, the small kid would probably be constantly flattered about how intelligent and curious they were.

So, Logan went on with his life, paying for his damn studies, because he wanted nothing more than to investigate the wonders beneath the sea. He was eighteen years old when he was invited to join a royal ship’s crew.

After almost a year of working there, he abandoned the idea. The Crown didn’t care about the life and surprises behind the blue waves, no. They wanted to exploit every damn resource they could find, and Logan wasn’t going to be part of it. He had already told the captain of the ship that he was leaving on the next port, so now he only had to wait.

The nights were always the worst. He wanted to cry so badly, but he didn’t want the crew to listen to how defeated he really felt. It was then, while holding back tears, that he heard a soft humming coming from the deck. He was an intelligent man, but also a very curious one, so he put on his boots and followed the humming to one of the sides of the ship.

The air felt nostalgic, almost as if the sea was saying goodbye to him. He chuckled, that idea was ridiculous, even for a sea enthusiast like him. He leaned on the wood, feeling the breeze hitting his face and his glasses getting dirty.

He thought of jumping, filling all his pockets with something heavy, and never look up. While this sinister thought crossed his mind, the humming became clearer and suddenly the transfigured into words being sung. _Que es mi barco mi tesoro,_ _Que es mi dios la libertad, Mi ley, la fuerza y el viento, Mi única patria, la mar._

Logan abruptly stood up, panting heavily. The words once again turned into a soft humming. “I am exhausted; I must be imagining things,” he said, trying to convince himself. He couldn’t, but he decided it had been a dream.

The next day, Logan went to a pub to try and forget the fact that he spent almost a year working with the Crown. The payment had been good though, so once he found a place to sleep, he went directly to get a drink. The pub was full of marines, fishers and pirates, each of them minding their own business. This was a town near the shore, so of course it was full of people made a living thanks to the ocean.

Logan couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy.

He was moping around, sipping a beer, when he heard a familiar melody: the same rhythm of the song he had dreamed about. _“Olas de plata y azul; y ve el capitán pirata,”_ was singing the bartender while he cleaned some dishes.

“Excuse me?” Logan got the attention of the young man, who looked at him with an eyebrow raised. “That song…uhm?” The alcohol was hitting him, and he couldn’t blame anyone but himself. He knew he didn’t have a high resistance to alcohol and yet...

“It’s an old pirate song, from my hometown,” the bartender answered with a thick accent and continued doing his work.

_Pirates, huh._

That night Logan dreamed about living a pirate’s life, and the next day he was decided to begin a new life as a pirate. If the Crown hadn’t cut it, he would try betting on the other side of the coin. At first, he fantasized of buying a ship, getting a crew and just sailing off into the sea. That idea was tossed really quickly, however, when he realized that no one was going to trust him, since he wasn’t precisely a strong man. Besides, he didn’t want to be a pirate captain, he just wanted to be in the ocean and fucking investigate.

Well, for now he had to get used to life in this town.

* * *

Two years passed quickly for everyone in that small town, for everyone expect for Logan Sanders.

By then, Logan had probably asked ~~more like begged~~ every freaking pirate that went through this town to let him join the crew. Yes, he may not know how to fight, but he was a good strategist, and he could even clean the ship. Most of them would just laugh right in his face and brush him off, others would make him scrub the deck spotless and then spit something like _we’ll let you know._

Logan got it, really. He wasn’t a muscular, strong man, but it wasn’t solely his fault. When you grow up in a foster home with twenty other mouths to feed, you can’t exactly eat to your heart’s content. Of course he wasn’t going to grow tall, he thanked the gods for not being sickly.

Logan’s money was starting to dry up. Most of the time, when he needed money to pay for the small room he slept in, he would gamble in the pub. It was laughably easy, since most of the people who gambled there were pretty drunk, and Logan was _good_ at it. Actually, that was how he knew he was good at developing strategies; he had never used them in combat, mainly because he didn’t fight, but if he was good at tricking men twice his size, then he couldn’t be that bad a strategist.

He was on his way to the pub when he surprisingly made out an unknown ship tied in the dock. He smiled bitterly, thinking that maybe he would ask its captain eventually, but he already felt defeated. He sighed, and then the soft melody started.

It was odd, yes. Logan knew he was probably going crazy, but ever since his last time on board, he could hear a soft hum coming from the sea. It started always at the same hour, like a sweet bell indicating the moon would soon come out to greet him. He found it comforting, for some reason. He also knew that it was probably just him imagining things.

He hummed along and went into the pub.

* * *

Deceit sighed for what it felt like the millionth time. He really loved Patton, he would kill anyone for him, but he was so-

“We can just ask them, right?” He sighed again.

-childish and so innocent for a pirate.

“Enlighten me, please,” Dee said, “How would you ask someone to please let us steal all their money?” He hissed.

Patton pouted, “You don’t have to be mean, you know.”

Deceit was about to call it a day. _I am sorry, my Captain, we don’t have money due to our inability to create a plan and Patton being, well, himself._ He wondered, why the hell he was paired with Patton?

Someone cleaned his throat next to them, and Deceit instinctively touch his dual swords. Patton’s hand went to his whip; he preferred a weapon that could hurt but didn’t kill. “Uhm,” The guy showed his open hands, to show he wasn’t posing any threat. “M-mind if I help?” He asked. The guy was tiny, really, probably a few inches shorter than Virgil.

Patton’s soft, pleading eyes laid on Deceit, and of course no one could say no to him, so he just sighed. “That guard has an issue turning on his right side, so if you attacked him from there it’s probably easier to overpower him. That way also you would have direct access to the money, without alerting any other guard and breaking into a fight.” He said, almost too low, as if he was scared. ~~He probably was.~~

Patton looked at Deceit, who was staring into the guy’s eyes, looking for any traces of a lie. He gave a short nod to Patton when he realized he wasn’t lying. “If somehow this is a trap,” Deceit said, getting closer to the man, “We’ll kill you right here, pipsqueak.”

The guy gulped hard, “I am not lying,” He took a deep breath, “I give you my word.”

Deceit stoop up, and signaled Patton to remain there, “Mo, you stay here.”

“Aye, Dee.” He said, “I am not killing him, though.” He added.

“Of course not.” Deceit murmured, clearly annoyed and mumbling to himself.

* * *

His plan worked. Of course it did, Logan didn’t have any doubts about its efficiency. ~~-Except he was literally shaking the whole time he sat next to the friendly one-~~

Once they saw the one who had his face covered with a thin black cloth approaching the table, the friendly one —Patton, he learned later—, took his hand, stood up and suddenly he was running with the two of them.

Logan expected the worse. _This is how I’ll die._ However, once they were far away from the pub, he saw that Patton was smiling.

“See that, Dee? I told you, violence is never the solution.”

Dee, Logan assumed, was smirking a little, “You do realize that stealing is not exactly a pinnacle of morality, right?” He said, checking the bag full of golden coins.

“I dunno what that means.” Patton said back, cheerfully.

“It means the peak,” Logan said, trying to catch his breath, “Li…like the culminating po…point,” He was wheezing, trying to breathe again, resting his hands on his knees and trying not to choke, “I-is like saying the goal.”

“Okay buddy,” Patton said, giving him small _patpats_ on his back, “You did a good job.”

Dee was counting the money inside the bag, “I think our Captain would be satisfied.” He finally said, picking a bunch of coins and throwing them into a small bag.

“This is for your help, pipsqueak.” Logan looked up, to see Dee handing the small bag to him.

For a moment he was thought about trading the money for a spot in their crew, since he now realized they were probably pirates from the ship he saw earlier at the dock. He opened his mouth when–

“I think we should keep him.” Patton said.

Dee didn’t even look at him, “No.”

Patton pouted. Logan actually saw a pirate pouting. “At least we can buy him a drink?”

Dee stayed silent for a minute. “Remus expects us back at the ship at night.” He sighed, “I guess a couple of drinks won’t affect us.”

Logan looked at Patton, noticing how he was staring at him. “Well, we can’t go back to the pub we just stole from, right? And we’re not from around here so...”

“Right, right. Follow me, I know another place.”

Logan was about to get drunk with pirates, and he had no idea how that would turn out.

* * *

Patton was stumbling his way back into the ship, when he saw Virgil already at the dock. “Vi~” he said, leaving Deceit’s side and running to hug the smaller man.

Virgil didn’t hug him back, but he did put his hand on his waist to help him stabilize his body. “You are drunk.”

Deceit chuckled when Remus gave him a questioning look, “Sorry about that, Captain.” He shook his head when he saw Virgil helping Patton into the quarters, “Someone helped us get the money you asked for and, well, you know Patton.”

“Why did someone help you? Couldn’t handle it alone, Deceit?” He said, with a twisted smile on his face.

“On the contrary, my Captain,” they started walking into the ship, “Patton didn’t let me.”

They laughed softly. They walked towards the side of the ship, Remus staring at the water. “Should I be concerned about this person who helped you, Damien?”

Dee wasn’t comfortable when people called him by his name, it was something he had left with his past life. However, when Remus did it, he couldn’t help but feel a light wave of warmth spreading inside his chest. “Not really, my Captain,” he saw how Remus slightly shook his head. “He’s just a pirate wannabe. He’s really clever, if I must say.”

Remus hummed, and started walking towards his quarters without saying another word.

* * *

Logan was drunk.

Deceit and Patton took him home since he couldn’t even walk straight. He fumbled with the keys of the room and threw himself on his bed.

He was too drunk to acknowledge the small humming addressing him by his name. _“We’ll meet soon, Logan_.”

He was too drunk to realize it wasn’t a dream.

* * *

Roman was lying near his brother’s ship, smiling to himself.

“I am going to run my precious ship over your obnoxious tail if you don’t tell me what you’re plotting, Roman.” Remus hissed.

Roman just smirked at his brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Roman can speak Spanish, apparently. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, I hope y'all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writting it.
> 
> Follow me at Tumblr @yuna-dan


	3. Chapter 2: Carry On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’ll talk to our Captain.” He squeezed a wound, making it bleed. “I will try to convince him to let you stay. That day, in the pub, you told us how you’ve always been trying to become a pirate.” Had he? Logan couldn’t remember clearly everything he had told them that day. “I promise you,” Patton’s eyes met his, and Logan gasped at the sight of their determination. “I will try my hardest to persuade him, okay?” He continued, tending to his injuries, “or at least convince him to give you some money and clean clothes…” he mumbled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi, as always thanks to my best friend Day (@awkwardkindanerd) for being my incredible beta

It wasn’t that Remus didn’t enjoy his life as the captain of “The Royal.” His brother might have been the actual King but technically speaking, he was also royalty, thank you very much. When Remus decided to leave the bottom of the ocean it was for a reason. He adored the sea, really, but he just couldn’t bear to live under his dad’s shadow. He used to fight a lot with his brother, back when their mom died, and they decided to live in the ocean.

_“We are not supposed to be like this, Roman!”_

Remus almost felt like he didn’t belong under the sea ( _your dad felt the same_ they would say, _yes and he fucking left, didn’t he_? he would yell back).

He didn’t understand back then that Roman wasn’t pretending to be like his dad; he was being himself, and that included enjoying his life as merman and eventually, as a king.

When they decided to part ways, Remus going back to the surface and Roman staying down there, it was a hard decision. It was few days after Roman’s coronation.

In the past, of course, Remus didn’t know he would become the Captain of his own ship. It came as a surprise, but now he lived at the ocean and Roman visited constantly, much to his dismay. ( _It’s my duty to take care of all sea creatures, including you_ he would say with a smug smile, and Remus would throw pebbles at him).

Being a pirate was always part of the plan, however. Its lifestyle included everything Remus loved: the sea _and_ violence! Besides, that way he would also be protecting the Sea Kingdom of non-aquatic people. It wasn’t hard to convince someone in letting him on the ship. He was after all, the prince of the seas ( ~~a secret only a few of his crew knew).~~

He loved being a pirate. For him, it was like being a King without the formalities and with much, much more fun.

He didn’t love, however, when people fucked with his plans.

But now here he was, in the lowest part of the ship, where they threw all the prisoners and where he and Deceit killed some of them eventually. 

He sighed again, turning to Deceit who was standing straighter than normal. “And you assure me you two didn’t have anything to do with this?”

“I assure you, my Captain, we didn’t even tell him which ship was ours.” Patton nodded along him.

The man, who was now laying on his side and clutching his abdomen, groaned, and Remus got ready to kick him again, “I swear to the gods, this was an accident,” he said.

He allowed the man to sit, and only then he realized he had dried blood under his nose and a bruised eye, “If I had known this was a pirate ship, I would have asked for your permission first, sir.” Deceit scoffed at his words. “I was running away from some people who I-uhm, might’ve fooled for some money.” He looked away. “As you can see, I am not exactly well-versed in fighting, so I just got into the first ship I saw to protect myself.”

Remus was playing with his moustache, listening carefully to the man’s narrative. “My plan was to leave as soon as possible. However, I was captured by one of your crew members before I could make my escape.” He was sitting on the floor, breathing heavily, and Remus felt slightly bad about the few kicks he had delivered before he started asking questions. “I didn’t have any malicious plan, sir.”

Patton cleared his throat, “I-If I may, Captain? Logan could be actually quite useful for us, he- uhm, from what he told us and from what I saw, he’s very good at devising plans…”

“Obviously not so good if his plan got his nose broken.” Deceit interrupted, earning him a glare from Patton, who just ignored him and went on talking.

“He’s not very good at fighting,”

“…clearly.” Remus snorted when Patton glared _hard_ at Deceit, successfully silencing his first mate.

“However, Captain, I believe that with good training he can become a good asset for our crew.”

Logan, who apparently had a better name than _the man with bloody nose_ , was looking at Patton with shock visible on his face. His glasses we’re crooked and his clothes were dirty, but the spark in his wide eyes was from curiosity rather than fear. Remus chuckled. “You do have a heart of gold, Pat.” He turned to Logan, who was still on the floor, “Go ahead, clean his wounds, Patton. You,” he ordered, facing Logan, “get out on the next port.”

Logan stood up abruptly, probably wishing to say something to Remus, but Deceit was suddenly in front of him, protecting his Captain, dual swords on his hands. Logan took a few steps backwards, “Sir, I don’t have any of my belongings here…” He said, almost shyly.

Remus shrugged and patted Deceit’s back, which relieved a little tension off his first mate’s shoulders. “Well, you should’ve thought about that before getting on my ship.”

“Captain…” Patton was ready to argue a bit more, but he bit his tongue when Remus glanced in his direction. “I’ll tend to his wounds.”

“And keep him down, in any cell, I don’t particularly care.”

“Aye, Captain.”

“Thanks, Sir.”

Remus went back to the deck, with Deceit trailing behind him.

* * *

Patton was rubbing a wet cloth on his back. Logan didn’t have any idea of how he got hurt there, but then again, not only the guys he deceived had managed to beat him up, but some of the pirates inside the ship got their fists on him as well. He didn’t really blame the pirates. After all, he had been on _their_ ship. Logan still remembered how, back when he sailed with the Crown, if any strangers got on the ship the captain had them killed on the spot, no questions asked. He should feel lucky.

But, honestly, he felt like shit.

Patton touched softly his bruised cheek. “I’m so sorry this happening Logan,” he whispered, cleaning the dried blood off his face and rubbing the wound with some alcohol, which made Logan hiss.

“I’ll talk to our Captain.” He squeezed a wound, making it bleed. “I will try to convince him to let you stay. That day, in the pub, you told us how you’ve always been trying to become a pirate.” Had he? Logan couldn’t remember clearly everything he had told them that day. “I promise you,” Patton’s eyes met his, and Logan gasped at the sight of their determination. “I will try my hardest to persuade him, okay?” He continued, tending to his injuries, “or at least convince him to give you some money and clean clothes…” he mumbled.

If anyone asked, Logan had cried because of the pain inflicted by the beatings.

He had definitely not cried out of impotence, out of the little control he had around his life, out of how fucking mad and sad he felt.

No, he had clearly cried out of pain.

* * *

It was night.

His cell was relatively small, but he could lay down on the wooden floor. He didn’t really want to think what the stains around him were, because he was sure most of them weren’t out of humidity.

He wished he hadn’t encountered those pirates when he was taking notes on the shore. He should’ve kept to the different small fish that got close enough to examine. He didn’t even know where his journal had ended at. If it was lost, at least five years of research had been lost too.

He felt his eyes getting damp again, and he just left his forearm resting over them, not caring about getting his glasses dirty. A watery sigh came out. He really wanted to cry again but refused to do it.

His eyes closed; he was listening to sounds of the ocean when the humming started. He smiled softly. At least he could rely on his crazy mind to let him hear the music.

The humming became stronger, and clearer. Logan sat up to listen better to it, because it had been almost two years since the humming actually came with words.

_“If you're lost and alone, or you're sinking like a stone_ _, carry on. May your past be the sound of your feet upon the ground, carry on.”_

He smiled, and maybe he was becoming even more crazy, but he just couldn’t help himself when the words fell out of his lips.

“Thanks, I needed that.”

* * *

Roman stopped singing when he felt something hitting his head. He looked up and glared at his brother when he saw him holding a bunch of small rocks on his hands.

“What the hell are you thinking, Roman?!” Remus hissed, throwing another rock at his brother’s head, who managed to get under the water before it got him. “You can’t just sing in the middle of the night! My crew needs to sleep!”

Roman got out of the water, “What, Remus? You don’t enjoy my beautiful voice?” He teased him, and chuckled when his twin only stared fiercely at him. “Your crew, my dear brother, is already asleep. That’s why I’m singing, to help them sleep better.”

“Oh, that’s so thoughtful of you, my King.” Remus leaned into the side with a smirk.

“Of course, Captain Remus. As you know it’s my duty to protect all sea creatures, and unfortunately that means you too, rotten cracken.”

They both laughed, Roman flapling his long, large red-golden tail while Remus let a small, tiny greenish tentacle out. The two tendrils touched, intertwining for a few seconds.

“I miss you down here, bro.” Roman finally said, smiling bitterly, “and before you say anything, I’m not saying this to make you come back. I know you were miserable when you lived down here, it’s just…”

“I miss you too, Ro,” the Captain said. “You’re my family.”

The tentacle caressed Roman’s face, its sucker attaching itself into his cheek. “No, ew. Re, you know I hate it when you do that.” He tried to free himself from the tendril.

The two siblings continued bickering for a few moments, until Roman broke it up. “You should sleep too, brother. The sun will come out soon, and the ship needs its Captain healthy.”

“You will come tomorrow, right?”

“Yes, sure.”

* * *

Logan wasn’t sure of when he had fallen asleep, but he woke up abruptly when he heard the metallic door opening.

“Jeez, man, take it easy.” The guy on the other side was probably shorter than Patton. He was wearing a purple coat and Logan noticed two guns attached to his belt, “I just brought you breakfast.” He placed the tray carefully on the floor, “and some clean clothes Pat asked me to lend you.”

“Why are you doing this?” Logan simply asked, keeping his distance.

"Captain thought you might be hungry, so he told Pat to make more food.” He raised an eyebrow. “The clothes were Patton’s idea, to be honest, but to be fair our Captain probably owns like two different sets of clothing.”

Logan’s heart was pounding inside his ribcage as he stared at his food and borrowed garments, which probably annoyed the other guy. “Look, mate, I’m going to leave this here, take it if you want to. I don’t care.”

He left.

The next day he came back with another tray of food and frowned when he realized that Logan hadn’t even touched the previous day’s. “Man, you’re going to starve to death if you don’t eat at all, and Dee won’t be happy to see food going to waste.”

Logan scowled at him, and the man sighed and sat, cross-legged, in front of the door. “Look pal, I know you’re scared…”

“I am not.”

He ignored him, “…and I do get you, being on a pirate ship is scary, but we’re not cruel…” he looked away, “or well, not to people who don’t deserve it.” Logan snorted .“While the stunt you pulled out was quite stupid, we’re not letting you starve to death, okay?” Logan looked at him warily. “I mean, if we wanted you dead, you would be dead already, don’t you think?”

“I guess so…” Logan finally gave in, because the guy did have a point.

“Oh, right.” The guy gave him a small smile, when Logan _finally_ bit a piece of bread from the tray, “I found this yesterday while cleaning.” He pulled out something from his purple coat, and Logan gasped. “I believe this belongs to you, doesn’t it? Since it had all these drawings and notes about wild…”

Logan snatched _his journal_ out of the hand of the pirate, who chuckled in response. “I can manage to get you something to write with, if you wanna?”

“Uhm, that would be… great…” Logan admitted, feeling quite stupid for some reason. “Uhm, sir.”

The man laughed out loud, “Oh no, call me Virgil.”

“I’m Logan.” He tentatively smiled to the pirate.

* * *

A few days passed by. Logan wasn’t sure how many, as his cell only had a small window that let some sunlight in at noon. He had counted twenty days, but he could have been wrong.

The humming never stopped, but then again, he wasn’t expecting it to go away.

* * *

“Are you…” Virgil was sitting in front of him, like most days when he brought him food. “Are you like… uhm…”

Virgil shot him a weird look, “Yes?”

“With Patton?” He finally asked. Those two were the only ones who constantly came down to visit him. Sometimes they would be together, and they were _incredibly touchy_ for being pirates. “I mean it’s just…”

“Yeah.” Virgil answered, the ghost of a smile on his lips. “Yeah, uhm, he helped me a lot in the past. Why the question, though?”

Logan shrugged. “I’m a curious man.”

Virgil laughed, “He’s still trying to convince Remus, y’know? I think he’s already managed to convince Dee…”

Logan raised an eyebrow, not exactly sure what to answer. “I wouldn’t blame him if your Captain doesn’t agree, I’m not exactly pirate material.”

Virgil shot him a curious glance. “That doesn’t exist. No one is born a pirate, we all had our struggles. You only need to believe in yourself… Oh my gods I sounded like Patton, didn’t I?”

“Yes, a little.”

Virgil groaned.

* * *

Roman was swimming near the ship, like he did almost every night. The brothers weren’t talking, just enjoying the soft breeze of the ocean, when finally, Roman broke the silence…

“Who’s your guest?”

“Huh?”

“The man in the dungeons, brother.” Roman finally said, “You haven’t killed him, which it’s odd. He’s been there for almost a month…”

“Oh, he’s leaving in the next port.” Remus shrugged, “I don’t even remember his name, if I’m honest.”

“I think he should join your crew.” He simply said.

“Oh my gods, are you serious?” Remus raised his voice, “Patton nagging me every day and now you-”

“Didn’t once you tell me you always listened to Patton’s hunches?”

“Roman, he doesn’t even know how to fight.”

“Neither did you, when you started…”

“I fucking hate you, brother.” They stayed in tense silence for a few minutes, until Remus spoke again, “Is this what you were plotting?”

Roman shrugged, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, brother. However, you should give it a thought.” With that he sunk into the sea, leaving Remus very confused.

“I fucking hate you, Roman.”

A stronger wave hit the bottom of the ship, making it sway a little more violently, which made Remus smile.

* * *

The next morning Remus went into the dungeons with Patton on his back and a very annoyed Deceit at his side.

“Captain, I wasn’t expecting you here.” Virgil was sitting in front of the prisoner, but as soon as Remus entered both of them stood up.

“It’s fine, Virgil.” Remus said, getting closer to the cell. “Go call the rest of the crew, I have an important announcement to make.” Virgil shot a worried look at Logan, but obeyed nonetheless.

“Deceit, open the damned cell.” Damien obeyed and Remus almost laughed, amused by how the prisoner was trying to pretend he wasn’t scared, trying being the key word.

“I…Is something wrong, Sir?”

“Captain.” Remus simply said.

Logan looked at him confused, then look at Patton who was practically buzzing with excitement. “Excuse me?” He finally said.

“Welcome to the Royal’s crew.” Remus finally said. “Your first day as pirate starts right now, mate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope y'all enjoy this chapter as much as i enjoy writing it!!!
> 
> at my tumblr you can find more fics and more about this au @yuna-dan


	4. Chapter 3: Into the Open Air

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Welcome aboard .” The-his (his) Captain said. Logan noticed some members of the crew waving at him as they were standing in the middle of the deck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, quarantine and exams are kicking my arse, and I just got fired and, yeah, bad year overall haha.
> 
> As always, thanksat my beautiful best friend day

The first thing that Logan noticed was that the _Royal Ship_ was enormous. His eyes were shining as if he was again that little kid who saw a Marine Ship for the first time. The Royal was bigger than Logan’s old ship, that was for sure.

The salty air was hitting his face, and he felt some excitement going through his veins.

“Welcome aboard .” The-his ( **his** ) Captain said. Logan noticed some members of the crew waving at him as they were standing in the middle of the deck. Near the rudder was what he assumed was the Captain’s cabin. “Thomas, Virgil, show him the rest of the ship. Patton come with me, Dee and I need to discuss something with you.” Remus turned around, leaving Logan staring at his long greenish coat. The sound of his boots against the wooden floor echoed, as the rest of the crew _aye ayed_ at his order.

“The rest of you, go back to whatever you were doing.” Dee, Logan assumed he was the first mate. As he barked the order, the rest of the crew went back to their work. He counted at least other seven people, and he wondered if those were enough for a pirate crew, since when he worked for the Marine, they were almost twenty sailors plus the cookers. Then again, pirates worked different.

A young boy who couldn’t be older than seventeen approached him. “So,” the teen said, standing right of front of him with his hands behind his back and a soft smile on his face. He was shorter than Logan, “follow us, Virge and I will show you the way.”

“Huh?”

“I am Thomas, surely you heard our Captain telling us,” His thumb pointed at Virgil who, now Logan noticed, changed his demeanor, standing taller and with a small frown on his face, “to show you the way…”

“Oh…” He said, following the teen around, “I’m Logan…” he said, after an uncomfortable silence surrounded them, earning a chuckle from one of them. Thomas made a noise of acknowledgement but continued walking. “That’s the Captain’s cabin,” pointing at the small room where Remus, Patton and Dee had disappeared, “The small room next to his is Dee’s, his name is Damien and he’s the first mate as you can already imagine.” Logan nodded, his fingers aching to write that down on the small journal that he was still holding.

They walked towards the beak, “You already know where the dungeons are, and welp,” Logan kept glancing at Virgil, who hadn’t said a word since they started walking. They kept walking until they reached some stairs, “This is where we sleep,” He gestured to a room where there were some bunk beds and a small bathroom at the end. “That way, to the right it’s what we call the kitchen and were we eat. We normally take turns to make the food, but Pat’s in charge of that…”

They kept walking, showing Logan were the supplies were kept and where they stored the maps to keep track of their routes. They ended the tour at the infirmary, which apparently was also Patton’s responsibility. “Any questions?”

He glanced at Virgil, who was looking at him with a softer smile, “Not really…” Thomas nodded, turning around, ready to leave. “Just… Is it safe to have kids here?” Virgil laughed at that comment, throwing his head back. “How old are you, Thomas?”

Thomas, on the other hand, still with his cheerful smile said, “I’m old enough to know you haven’t been on a pirate ship before, so technically older pirate-wise than you…”

“Okay, okay. That was uncalled for, Tom.” Virgil said, messing with his hair, “go help Remy, I’ll take Logan to his bed.”

Thomas agreed, mumbling down something like _stupid_ or probably something even more rude, but Logan decided to ignore it. “He’s seventeen and he rarely participates on the fighting, he helps with the maintenance of the masts. The Captain met him when he was probably like ten years old and since then he stuck with us, so…” He shrugged, walking towards the rooms, “Patton knows the complete story. If you want to know, ask him.”

Logan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “The Marine didn’t let kids on board.”

“Yeah, well, we’re not the Marine, are we?” Virgil snapped back, which was probably the normal answer to that, “Don’t go comparing everything with the marine, most of us won’t take it good, ‘kay L?” He said, as they arrived at the room where they sleep. “That bed is free so you can keep it.” He changed the subject completely before Logan could say anything else.

“Take a quick shower, I guess you can use some of my or Terrence’s clothes, we’ll buy you some things at our next stop…” The pirate stared at him. “Go, shower, hurry up.”

Logan hurried, he wasn’t sure what for, but something told him he didn’t want to be late.

* * *

Remus’ head was on his desk. He kept banging his forehead against the map sprawled on his desk hoping that way he could finally understand it.

He had been looking for that specific place for almost ten months now. Maybe it was an imaginary place that his father had made up just so they could sleep when they were kids, but when Roman presented the wet map to him and told him that it was supposed to take him that _specific_ island, he became obsessed with finding it.

He didn’t really know what he wanted to achieve by finding it, but he needed to _know_. Roman kept saying it would give him closure, but closure of what? He had accepted that Romulus was dead since he was ten years old, or probably younger, and he accepted that his mother was dead too. Truth be told, he didn’t want to dig too deep into his emotions, because deep down he knew _exactly_ what he needed to deal with, but that didn’t mean he was _ready_ to do it.

He pulled his hair out of his eyes, staring again into the piece of paper. He knew it was pointing at a specific place, but he didn’t know _where_ in the vast seven seas (technically eight) it could be. He was ready to hit his head once again when he heard the door of his chamber opening, instantly knowing who was there.

“Is everything okay, Damien?” He asked, not even looking up.

His first-mate groaned in response, and Remus heard the way he threw himself into his bed. Remus chuckled at the dramatic expenses of his friend, “No. Tell me again, Captain, why am I in charge of training him?”

“Who?” He played dumb, biting his lower lip to held back the smirk on his face, even though Damien couldn’t see him.

“You know exactly of who I am talking about, Captain.” He hissed, and Remus stood up stretching the muscles of his back, feeling the way the bones cracked as he did it.

“Luke?” He guessed, trying to keep his face straight but failing miserably.

“Logan, but yes, him.” Damien was laying on his back, staring at the chandelier that was hanging on the ceiling. He had taken off the handkerchief that hid the burn on the side on his face and Remus couldn’t help but feel a pang of happiness at the fact that he was the only one who get to see him without it. Sometimes he wanted to touch it, to feel the wrinkled skin under his fingertips. However, he knew better than that and while he also knew that Damien would say yes if he simply asked, he would never put his best friend on that position.

“I don’t know, do you think Mo was a better option?” He asked, sitting on his bed, right next to him. “He doesn’t know combat like us, and that’s a disadvantage. I’m not willing to risk it… you were the best option, and you know it.” Remus noticed the way Dee’s lips tugged at the end, like fighting back a small smile. “Is he that bad?”

“I think Thomas was better, and he started training at the age of twelve.” They shared a laugh, as the Captain lied down next to Dee. Remus still wondered why the fuck he had given in to his brother’s and Patton’s pleads, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have his own fun.

It had been almost two weeks since Logan became a part of the crew, and ever since then, Remus refused to call him by his name, even if he now knew it. Of course, he was aware it was driving the other man crazy, but if he wanted to be petty, he was going to be.

His thoughts were broken as he felt Damien’s scarred hand brush the white-streaked hair from his face, “What are you thinking about, my Captain?” Damien whispered, almost inaudibly and the only reason the Captain listened was because they were close, almost _too_ close.

Remus shrugged, “The Map.”

“Still can’t figure it out, huh?”

Remus sighed, “According to my compass it’s at the North of the village where Romulus met my mom, but I’m not sure anymore…” Dee hummed, not moving his hand away from the Captain’s hair, the pair now too afraid to move. “I guess we’ll have to wait. We will arrive at the next port in a few days, and we need more food, as well as gunpowder. Has Lucas decided what weapon he’s going to use?"

Finally, Dee removed his hand from the hair of his Captain, laying it instead on his shoulder, “I don’t think so, no. However, if I may give my opinion, he could use one of long distance damage, a rifle maybe, that way he wouldn’t have to engage in hand to hand combat.”

“Virgil won’t be too happy he’s stealing his… _thunder_.” Remus noticed the stiffness of Damien but decided to ignore it. Sometimes he would be like that, Damien, almost _flirty_ but then when Remus decided to flirt back, he would become flustered and awkward. The merman found it almost cute but confusing as hell, so he played dumb.

“Yeah…” He said, finally. They stayed like that for a few more seconds until Damien cleared his throat, and abruptly stood up, “I will leave you to catch up with the map, my Captain.” As he was leaving the chamber, he turned his head and Remus noticed the flush on his cheeks, “By the way, food will be served in fifteen minutes and Patton told me that he won’t wait for you.”

“Mutiny, I say! That guy one day will riot against us, Dee.” He joked.

“Certainly, my Captain, by hugging us to death.”

* * *

When Dee left the chamber he leaned against the door, feeling his heart thumping against his ribcage. _What were you doing? What if he noticed?_ He was ready to go back to his own chamber, and take a long back when he heard snickers, turning around and noticing Patton and Thomas smirking, with Logan holding a smile.

“What are you three doing here?” He yelled, feeling his unburnt side flushing, “Do you want to walk the plank!?”

“Oh captain, my captain.” Thomas mimicked.

“GO. NOW.”

* * *

Logan heard the humming, it never stopped really. He wanted to go up to the deck and listen closer, but whenever he wanted to leave the room, Virgil was there, as if he was protecting something. It would be awkward to explain why he wanted to go to the deck in the middle of the night, so he pretended to be asleep as the humming lulled him into that.

Today at least he had an excuse, since it was his turn to clean the deck.

He was getting used to the pirate life, and truth to be told, most of the crew were a bunch of dorks. Not that he would say that out loud, since most of those dorks could easily kill him.

He changed his clothes into some black pants and a sleeveless shirt. He really needed clothes that fit him correctly, and he was glad that the next village was closer. He put his boots on, stretched as the humming continued.

Once on the deck, he took a deep breath. He went to collect the stuff to clean it when something golden on the waves caught his eyes. He approached a side of the ship, hoping to see the fish from closer. He managed to get a glimpse of something in the sea, as he squinted to get a better image, not noticing the man staring at him.

“Is everything okay, Louis?” The Captain giggled as the man jumped into the air and then glared at him.

“I thought I saw something, Captain.”

“Why are you up so early?”

Logan stared into the ocean again, “It’s my turn to clean the deck, and I wanted to finish early so I could take some notes on the sea life.”

Remus hummed but didn’t leave, making Logan uncomfortable, what was he supposed to do now? Excuse himself and start his chores? Wait for the Captain to tell him something? Thankfully he didn’t have to wait, as Remus cleared his throat and continued,

“So, tell me, Lucas.” He continued, “How is this life treating you?”

Logan stared deeply into the waves, hoping to see again the golden fish, “Better than expected, Captain.”

“How so? If Dee told me correctly, you used to work for the Crown, right?”

“More or less. I was an investigator for them, they didn’t care about knowing more about the ocean, just exploit it…”

“And you think we’re different?” He raised an eyebrow.

“I am not sure about other pirates, sir-Huh, Captain.” Remus held back a smirk, “I guess this crew is different?” Now, that won his attention.

“How so?”

“Well, for starters I doubt all pirates let an ex-worker of the Crown on their ship, then the kid and of course, the relationship between Virgil and Patton. I am not sure about other pirates, but that kind of relationship on the Crown would’ve been punished with death.”

Logan noticed the way the Captain frowned at that, “You do realize how dangerous it’s to say something like that around their Captain, right? I could easily have them killed.”

And of course Logan knew that, and he would never expose someone like that, but then again, “What kind of Captain would you be if you didn’t know everything happening in your ship?” He retorted, without missing a beat.

Remus gave him a proudish smile, “Besides, those two are obvious as fuck, the other day I found them in the middle of engaging sexual activities…”

The Captain barked with laughter, “Those things I do not need to know, my friend.” Logan gave him a shy smile, “To be clear, we’re not like other pirates, no. I guess you can consider yourself lucky…”

Logan was about to say something else, when his Captain continued, “Now hurry up cleaning, I want this deck spotless before the crew gets up, Logan.” Remus clapped his hands, “We have many things ahead of us today.”

“Aye, aye, Captain.”

That was the first time his Captain referred to him by his name, and Logan couldn’t feel prouder of himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song of the chapter it's the one from "Brave"
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Follow me @yuna-dan

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Follow me on tumblr @yuna-dan


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